And we have a winner, folks. And I have to say, this is something of an upset. But after all the votes were counted, and a few really, really stupid "nut" jokes were endured (Seriously, I'm so fucking sick of squirrel nut-jokes, they're not funny, you're not funny, please don't talk, anymore), our squirrel, "Reiss," is the winner.

Originally, I was just simply going to make a journal asking people which of the four listed critter types was best (would've said rodent but rabbits technically are not, although all but the most stuck up of us just grandfather them in). But then I decided to make it more interesting and give each critter a face to go with the poll, and set out on my attempt to give my best possible representation of a mouse, rat, squirrel, and rabbit. The expectation was that the rat would win based not only on his very handsome portrait but also on my watchers, whom most likely would either prefer rats or at least prefer my version of them over my other critters since I would have likely cultivated said watchers largely through my frequent rat art. I also considered that the rabbit could win just based on their greater popularity in the fandom, and their perception as, frankly, femboy nymphomaniacs. I assumed the mouse and, especially the squirrel, would be the weakest candidate. Clearly, I was somewhat off base.

Somewhat, because the rat did nearly win. The squirrel ran away with it at the very end of my arbitrary voting period. And I think a big part of that was my little offhanded way of being cute with it by calling it "My Critter Boyfriend" which caused many of the voters to not just decide based on species preference or the attractiveness of the characters, but, the traits that would make for an ideal life partner, or at least, what they could discern from their distinct facial expressions. And I think this is where the squirrel ended up being the darkhorse hit because I went out of my way to give him the absolute cutest smile I could, to make up for what I perceived to be his lacking popularity as a species. And while the other species had their own advantages on display, squirrels are largely dependent on their tails for that extra flair, which wasn't visible in the portrait-only sketches I'd done for the character. That endearing, welcoming, buck-toothed smile would have to do all the heavy lifting. And lift, it did.

For those curious on some more analysis on the voter...

The mouse ("Leigh") received the fewest votes, if I'm not mistaken. Could have also been the rabbit by the end there. I think the perception of the mouse was that he was cute and maybe ideal for a one-time lithe twink-boy fantasy but not necessarily the kind of guy most would want in an actual partner. The rabbit ("Ambrose") didn't seem to have anything particularly wrong with him other than just being bested by other options, though I do wonder what would have happened had he been drawn differently, instead of with those elegant lop ears and turned away from the viewer. The rat ("Roland"), as I said, nearly won, as, again, they're already popular with the small percentage of my followers who actually engage with me in any meaningful way, and perhaps the aloof, strong-and-silent 'badboy' vibe gave him an edge. I actually thought he had the overall most handsome portrait, although might turn off somebody with his dismissive, maybe slightly grumpy looking expression.

Reiss seems to have been chosen for his expression that painted the picture of a friendly, outgoing, approachable boy who seemed, perhaps, to be the most universally compatible. He was seen as both naughty at nice, friendly but perhaps with a hidden dark side, and, according to one voter, seemed capable of being 'on top' if needed. It's impossible to know how the voting would have gone if not for the "Boyfriend" language in the original post but regardless, Reiss is your Critter Boyfriend.